Sitting in a barber chair at Water Works Salon in Mt. Pleasant, Matt Romashko got comfortable as Pete Grondin eased the back of the chair in a reclining position.

After applying an exfoliant to Romashko’s facial skin to remove toxins, Grondin reached for a hot towel, let it cool just a bit, and carefully draped it on Romashko’s face.

A short time later, Grondin removed the hot towel, applied lather and began shaving Romashko’s face with a straight razor.

Unlike the “old time” barbers who used strops to sharpen straight razors, today’s old-style barbers use injection razors that are used only once.

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Grondin, who has been doing old-style men’s hair cuts and shaves at Water Works for about a month, carefully shaved Romashko’s face, wiping the whiskers and cream on a towel.

The trick to a good shave is to go across the grain of the beard, Grondin said, but that can be tricky indeed, Grondin said.

Shaving across the grain can cause razor burn, but the hot towels open up pores and softens the beard, he said.

He is also using Sranrom, a men’s skin care product line that is exclusive to Water Works.

Grondin, who is related to the family that owns Grondin’s Hair Care centers throughout Michigan, first learned the art of shaving with a straight razor when he attended the Flint Institute of Barbering 40 years ago.

“Very few people know how to use a straight razor,” he said.

Old-style barbering that included shaves went out of style years ago, but is now making a comeback all over the country, Grondin said.

In today’s fast-paced world, Grondin urges men to get the old-style shaves, which are more than just a razor removing whiskers.

“A shave is a shave is a shave,” he said. “It’s not the tool you’re using.”